Tissue Paper Stained Glass Hearts

 

Tissue Paper Stained Glass Hearts.. such an easy craft! With a little help from an adult, almost any age would be able to make these! I love this craft as a Valentine's Day decoration! This craft was featured in the Family Movie Night: Beauty and the Beast post, make sure to go check it out!

What you will need:

Tissue paper in pink, red and white

Construction paper in pink, red and white

Clear contact paper

Scissors

Instructions:

Begin by cutting the pink, red and white tissue paper in 1/2  to 1 inch squares. A little goes a long way, so don't cut too much!

To make your heart shape (or any other shape), fold a piece of construction paper in half and cut half of a heart, this makes sure that both sides are equal. If you want to try another shape, just cut the folded construction paper into a half circle, square, oval or star. While, the construction paper is still folded, cut a parallel shape about 1 inside the shape. This will create heart shape with a hallow center. 

Next, open the heart and center it on the contact paper. From here the kids can fill the inside of the heart with the cut tissue paper. Be sure not to put any tissue paper outside of the shape border. 

After your child has finished decorating the heart shape, place another sheet of contact paper on top. Press on the contact paper to seal, making sure they are no air bubbles. Cut around the outside of the shape, leaving a small amount of contact paper to keep the shape in contact better. 

After your shapes have been cut out, hand them on the window! They will look beautiful!

Be sure to check out the Family Movie Night:Beauty and the Beast for free printables and other Beauty and the Beast inspired recipes, crafts and activities! 

Source: Wee Folk Art

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these for the first time for Valentine's day 2 years ago. They are amazing! It's a delicious red velvet cake recipe and the frosting is amazing! This is a Paula Deen recipe, and it is always my go to recipe for red velvet cake. I hope you like it as much as I did!


Ingredients:

For the Cake:
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teapsoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting: 
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
chopped pecans for garnish



Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin pans with cupcake liners. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Divided the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 of the way full. Bake the cupcakes for 20-22 minutes, making sure to turn the pans once, halfway through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick to make sure they are done, and let them cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar in on low speed, until thoroughly mixed. Beat the frosting on high until the cream cheese frosting is light and fluffy.




Enjoy!






Source:  pauladeen.com

Pound Cake with Raspberry Sauce

So I made this cake for a Valentine’s Day surprise for my boyfriend. He had mentioned to me that he loves pound cake. So, I searched the internet for a great recipe. I decided to make a raspberry sauce to go with it to give it some color and a fresh taste! Of course I topped it with a homemade whip cream! The pound cake is a Paula Deen recipe, and it is yummy! I cut the recipe in half and used a bread loaf pan, since it was just for us two! I hope your sweetie enjoys this cake, I know mine did!

Ingredients:

For the Pound Cake:

1 sticks of butter, plus more for greasing

¼ cup of vegetable shortening

1 ½ cups of sugar

3 eggs

1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, plus more for greasing

¼ tsp of fine salt

¼ tsp of baking powder

½ cup of milk

½ tsp of vanilla

For the Raspberry Sauce:

12 oz package of frozen raspberries

3 tbsp of sugar

For the Whip Cream:

2 tbsp of sugar

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream the butter and shortening together in a bowl, with a mixer.

3. Add the sugar, ½ cup at a time and beating in between.

4. Add each egg one at a time and beating in between.

5. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking powder together.

6. Add the flour mixture and milk into the butter and egg mixture, by alternating flour and milk and mixing in between.

7. Blend in the vanilla.

8. Use butter and flour to grease your pan.

9. Bake for 30 mins-55 mins, or until a knife in the middle comes out clean.

For the Raspberry Sauce:

Divided the bag of raspberries in half and blend half of them in a blender. In a bowl, stir in the liquid raspberries, whole raspberries and sugar.

For the Whipping Cream:

Place a metal mixing bowl and metal whisk attachment in the frezzer for 15 minutes before using, Place the sugar in the bowl first and then the cream, then whisk with a mixer until soft peaks form.

I cut the pieces of pound cake out with a heart cookie cutter to make it more festive for Valentine’s Day!

Enjoy and have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Photo: saraleedesserts.com

Mini Strawberry and Cream Cheese Pies

These are the perfect Valentine's dessert, or for any date night! These are quick, very easy to make, and they don't cost much to make at all! We loved these, the crust was sweet, buttery and flaky. The inside was full of flavor and so sweet and delicious! This idea was a cross between a mini cherry pie recipe  and a old family strawberry and cream dessert recipe. It turned out wonderful!

Ingredients:

Refrigerated Pie Dough 

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup of Sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1 can of Strawberry Pie Filling

3 tbsp of butter, melted

Directions:

1. Using the softened cream cheese, mix the cream cheese and 1/4 cup of sugar. 

2. Line a baking sheet with foil and cut out some heart shapes (or any shape) using a cookie cutter. I made about 3 pies with one sheet of pie dough, it all depends on the size of your cookie cutter. You will need 2 shapes for each pie!

4. Place 1 tsp of the cream cheese into the center of one side of the pie dough. Don't use too much because the pie will break. 

5. Place 1 tsp of the strawberry pie filling on top of the cream cheese.

6. Place the second layer of pie dough on top and secure it by pressing the ends together with a fork

7. Using your melted butter, brush the butter on the tops of the pies, and then sprinkle with the last of the sugar.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes

Enjoy! :)

Source: stockpilingmoms.com